Odd One Out
by Marauder's Mystery
Summary: The same story that you've heard before, but better! A girl gets sent to Green Lake. Please, take the time to read. Rated for eventual content.
1. Crime and Punishment

Author's notes, and all of the preliminary nonsense: Let me just start off by saying that none of this is mine, except Andrea Dean, a character that I made up all on my own. Go me. Also, when I put this story down on paper, I thought that it was an original idea, but then I checked, and saw that there were about two hundred twenty stories written about the exact same thing. However, I needed a break from the Harry Potter scene, so I figured I would give this a try. So please, keep in mind that I know that all of this has been done before, but I suppose I'm merely hoping that I can do it better. Thanks for reading. -JaQ.  
  
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"Guilty." The judge's final word rang in her ears as the dull thunk of the gavel on his desk closed every last window of hope she had left. She flinched at the word, unable to believe that it was true. It had been little more than a month ago that she had been at the tip of her game, living only for the adrenaline rush that filled her every time she. . .  
  
"Miss Andrea Dean," the judge began again, after a moment of tense silence. "It appears that you have two options: Camp Crystal, or a juvenile detention center in Nevada for the next six months."  
  
Camp Crystal? Andrea thought incredulously. It sounded like a place where little girls ran around, singing campfire songs between bouts of rabid pillow fights, and braiding friendship lanyards that read "WWJD?"  
  
"Well, your honor," she said, a mock meekness in her voice, "I suppose that Camp Crystal is the best place that I can think to go at this moment."  
  
With a sigh, running his hand wearily across the back of his neck, the judge nodded. "Very well then. A short recess is granted so that I may make the call and see if they will grant your mother permission to send you there on such short notice."  
  
The bailiff motioned for everyone to rise as the world-wearied judge exited to his chambers, the click of the door echoing ominously in Andrea's head.  
  
An anxious murmur fell over the courtroom moments later. Andrea slumped back into her chair, brushing a damp bit of brown hair from her eyes. The scorching July heat threatened to choke the last breath from her lungs as sweat rolled down her back and dampened her palms. However, she knew that the heat was the least of her troubles at the moment. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she cursed inwardly. She had gone for so long, thinking that nothing could ever happen to her, that she couldn't be touched, and now, here was, sitting in a cramped courtroom as she awaited her fate. Hearing the door opening again, she leapt to her feet, prompting a scornful look from her mother in the front row. Andrea watched as the haggard looking judge took his seat once more.  
  
"Andrea Dean, it seems that there are no vacancies at Camp Crystal," he announced.  
  
Andrea felt her stomach turned to ice as she gaped in horror. She tried for several moments to speak, but a strangled sound was all that came of it.  
  
"However, there is an opening at another camp, and I gave them a call. They seemed willing enough to take you in."  
  
A smile suddenly plastered itself to her face. She was as god as free, being sent to a summer camp for a few months, and her slap on the wrist was over and dome with. "I-I'll take it!" she managed to stammer through her sudden relief.  
  
"Very well then, " the judge replied, shuffling his papers and placing them in a manila folder. "Miss Andrea Dean, I hereby sentence you to twenty-two months at Camp Green Lake," and with another thud of the gavel, the court was adjourned.  
  
Andrea rushed out, but was caught in a tight embrace as soon as she was out the door. Gasping for breath, she pulled away, looking into Mrs. Dean's red, tear-stained eyes. Amazed, Andrea hugged her again; thankful for the first contact she'd had with her mother in a month.  
  
***  
  
"My, my, Miss American Pie, put the Chevy to the levy ."  
  
With a groan, Andrea shifted in the hot plastic seat. She had been endlessly tormented with the off-key renditions of "Sweet Home Alabama," "Hey Jude," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," and many, many more, courtesy of the ancient bus driver, coupled with the chainsaw snores of the portly security guard sitting next to him. It had been the longest day of her life, complete with a plane trip, a gruesome three-hour layover in Chicago, yet another lengthy flight, and finally, a bus drive through the desolate Texan wasteland that stretched before her. The stark contrast of the barren desert, devoid of the Detroit skyscrapers that she held dear, burned Andrea's eyes. In this place, you could see for miles, instead of just down the street, and the sun's heat felt magnified on her skin.  
  
Numbly, she stared out the window, squinting against the sun's harsh radiance. Blinking, she stared out at the quickly passing ground beneath her. There were holes, oddly shaped and scattered like frightened rabbits strewn about the land. With wide eyes, she peered into them, catching a glance at each as the bus sped past. For a split second, as she passed another hole, she saw a yellow lizard, staring lazily up at her and mocking her from its shady retreat. But then, the hole disappeared from sight, and the lizard was gone. As she kept driving, Andrea watched as the holes became less scattered, the odd shapes melting into perfect circles, almost in neat rows. With a slight sigh, she settled back into the seat, hoping against hope that this was just a little town that she was passing through.  
  
With a rough tap to her shoulder, Andrea jerked slightly, and looked up at the guard, who was beckoning her to stand up. Tossing a glance out the window, she saw that they had stopped, but hadn't remembered slowing down.  
  
"We .we stopped. Bathroom break?" Andrea asked with a smile. But, the guard just peered down at her from the rim of his sunglasses, and her smile faded. "Right then," she said to no one but herself.  
  
Andrea grabbed her backpack and stood up, wincing at the nose her sweaty skin made as she pulled away from the seat. She ambled toward the front of the bus, ignoring the annoyed stare of the guard at her slow pace. With a fleeting gaze out of the window, she watched as several dirty faces crowded around the bus, as several more walked in wearily, clutching shovels. The people crowded around the bus watched the door and windows intently, waiting to see who or what would emerge. At last, she stepped down the stairs, the heat of the day slamming into her like a brick wall.  
  
Several of the grubby bodies jumped back as soon as her footsteps sounded on the cracked earth, while others watched with perplexed stares. Andrea stared back at them suspiciously, glancing at each individual in turn. Andrea felt her heart race with confusion as she looked around her, desperately looking at each, but coming to the same conclusion every time: there was not a girl to be seen. She stared, eyes wide with horror at the sign above a nearby cabin in peeling jade letters that read: "Welcome to Green Lake Boy's Camp." 


	2. Awkward Meetings

**Disclaimer: **As before, this story, and these fabulous characters are not mine, and the best I can do is to try not to mangle them _too _horribly. Please, if I am, tell me. I would die if I knew that I was. But anyway, even if I'm not, feel free to review! I love the feedback. Oh, and, I realize that this was a longer chapter, but I also figured that since I wasn't stoned for the atrocious first chapter, I may as well write a bit more this time. That said, on with the story! 

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"B-Boy's camp?" Andrea stuttered weakly. This couldn't be…there must have been some mistake. She struggled for a moment to find something to say, to protest, plead, or do anything it took to get herself out of this scorched, barren wasteland that threatened to swallow her in its vastness. 

            She continued to stand rooted to the spot, gaping at the sign, until she felt a calloused hand on her shoulder, steering her toward another cabin. Her gaze flicked fearfully around her, her frightened eyes meeting the confused eyes of each of the boys that surrounded her, even as they parted to let her pass. She walked; or rather let herself be pushed, through the door to the rundown cabin, where a sinister man sat moodily behind a scrubbed wooden desk, mechanically masticating sunflower seeds with a glazed look in his eye. Andrea and the security guard stood there while several moments slipped between the cracks of time, but the man seemed to take no notice of them. At long last, the guard cleared his throat, and with a slight grunt, the man looked up.

            "Have a seat," he mumbled, his thick southern drawl making him seem as though he were from a different planet, instead of a different part of the country. She did as she was told, and slowly sat in the creaky wooden chair, staring at the guard who stirred up the dust present in the chair as he sat next to her. "Andrea Dean?" the man behind the desk asked. Andrea nodded meekly, her eyes never leaving his. "Welcome to Camp Green Lake, Andrea. My name is Mr. Sir, and you can call me…Mr. Sir, is that clear?

            Andrea nodded again, and Mr. Sir stood up and led her into the next room. The guard hollered his goodbyes, and Andrea paused to watch the bus drive away, leaving storms of dust in its wake.

            "There are few things that you'll need to know if you're going to survive here at Camp Green Lake. You'll be given these," he drawled, tossing her a pair of grimy orange jumpsuits and boots that looked as though that had _originally _been black, but had been tinted to an alarmingly light shade of brown. "One set will be for work, the other for relaxation," "Every three days, your work clothes will be washed, and your leisure-time clothes will become your work set, understood?" he continued, pausing every now and then to shove another handful of sunflower seeds into his mouth. His tone suggested that he had recited that very same speech countless times.

            "Yes, Mr. Sir."

            "Good. You are to dig one hole, five feet across and five feet deep every day for the next twenty-two months. That's six hundred and seventy holes, if you'd like to keep track. If you're lucky, you'll stop feeling it after awhile, but the truth is, you've royally screwed yourself over, and now you're paying for it. This ain't no Girl Scout camp. We run a tight ship here, and anyone who doesn't respect that won't last long, y'dig?" he paused for a moment, before beginning to chuckle, seemingly amused by his play on words. Andrea tittered nervously with him, afraid of what would happen if she crossed this man. He stopped abruptly, and she followed suit, a lurching feeling settling in her stomach.

            Mr. Sir seemed to have nothing more to say to her, as he just stood there, awkwardly examining her as though he wasn't entirely sure that she was really a female. Andrea's thoughts were still on his previous words. _Twenty-two months…six hundred and seventy holes…_She had no idea how she would survive that long, the only girl lost in a sea of filthy boys. Had she been under any other circumstances, she knew she would have enjoyed the position that she was in, but her fear and unrest seemed to be blocking every other thought but the massive countdown that she had just begun in the dark recesses of her mind. Lost in thought, she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to face yet _another _man, thin enough to look starved, a thick coat of sun block plastered to his beaked nose.

            "Hello Andrea," he greeted, his cheery tone entirely out of place next to the mumbling Mr. Sir. "Andrea, I know that you've made some mistakes in your life, but I'm here to help you get back on the right track, so that society can see you as a shining young lady. My name is Mr. Pendanski, and I'll be here for you every day for the next twenty-two months," he extended a hand, and Andrea reluctantly shook it. 

Though she wouldn't admit it aloud, Mr. Pendanski made her almost as uncomfortable as Mr. Sir did, for no one could honestly be so happy stuck in the middle of nowhere. Mr. Pendanski motioned for her to walk with him, and she followed him, squinting as she stepped back into the sun.

"Um…sir?" Andrea asked cautiously, "Isn't this supposed to be a boy's camp?"

Mr. Pendanski chuckled, nodding. "Yes, it is, but would you rather be in prison?"

Andrea could see that she would be getting no explanation as to why she had been the exception, and she decided not to press the subject. Mr. Pendanski directed her toward the center of the camp, where a few more boys had began to gather. "You'll be sleeping in D-Tent," he stated, gesturing toward a faded green tent with a large black "D" stenciled on one side. "I'm afraid that you'll have to sleep with the boys. Crime doesn't allow exceptions for girls." 

Andrea nodded numbly, staring at the tent that she would soon be calling her home. She heard Mr. Pendanski calling her name, as though from a great distance, and she spun around, suddenly nose to nose with three other dirt-caked boys, their hot breath mingling with the heat of the day.

"Andrea, I would like for you to meet Ricky, Theodore, and José. They're going to be your roommates from now on.

"C'mon, Mom, how many times do we gotta tell you?" the olive-skinned boy Pendanski had called José asked. "The name's Magnet, and this here is Zigzag," he pointed to a tall, lanky boy with blonde hair that stood on end with an odd mixture of his sweat, and something else Andrea couldn't quite place, "And Armpit."

They heavy-set, African-American "Armpit" cocked a half-smile in greeting, and "Zigzag" examined her with a look that suggested that he wasn't all there. Andrea smiled politely. _This isn't _too _bad, _she thought sarcastically. _I'm only stuck bunking with three boys with names like "Armpit" for the next two years. _What was next, Skull-crusher, the motorbike king? 

"As I said, Andrea, José, Ricky and Theodore are your bunkmates," Pendanski repeated, ignoring Magnet's previous words. Receiving scoffs from the boys, he rolled his eyes. "They like their little nicknames, but there will be no 'Armpit' when you leave this place will there, _Theodore?_"

Armpit snickered, and Pendanski seemed to realize that this was a battle that he would not be winning. "Anyway, as I was saying…"

"Afternoon, Mom!" another dark-skinned boy with thick glasses that were coated with dirt called cheerfully as he waltzed toward them. He high-fived the three boys, and made toward the tent, before stopping, and turning around. Seemingly unsure of what he'd seen, he made to go to the tent once more, before turning around again, and doing a double take of the scene that lay before him. "Mom, is she yours?" 

Pendanski blinked, before the question seemed to register in his mind. "No, Rex, she's not my daughter, she's the newest member of D-Tent."

Rex gaped for a moment, before shrugging and moving to stand with the other three. 

_All right, _Andrea silently reassured herself. _Four. Four boys with strange names. Four-_

"'Bout time you boys showed up!" Rex called to the two approaching forms. "New kid, this is Squid and Zero," Rex pointed to each. Zero nodded in greeting, his tiny face set as stone, and Squid struck up a conversation with the others for a full minute and a half before he even noticed that she was standing there. 

Squid flashed a split-second smile. "Hey, pretty lady," he said casually, the toothpick that dangled from the corner of his mouth bouncing happily with every word he spoke. He, along with Zigzag, had the southern drawl that Mr. Sir possessed, but it was not nearly so intimidating.

Andrea blushed a deep scarlet at the remark and looked at the ground, pretending to study the cracks in the thirsty land, before looking back up again to the grinning faces of six boys, from the lanky, wild-eyed Zigzag, to the tiny, withdrawn Zero. 

"Well, Andrea, is there anything else that you'd like to know before I leave you to it?"

Andrea thought for a moment, a thousand questions coming into her mind. "No, I'm fine, but I _really _think I'd rather be taking my chances with Skull-crusher: the Motorbike King."

All chatter between the boys suddenly stopped, and Pendanski tossed her a sideways glance. "What?"

_Note to self: remember to keep internal dialogue to yourself, stupid! _Andrea scolded herself for speaking without thinking. "No, sir. Not a thing." So this was it then…twenty-two months with six boys…six rough-necked, rowdy boys.

"Hey, Caveman!" 

"Oh dear Lord, no more," she muttered.

Andrea snapped her head in the direction that the boys called, watching yet _another _boy trudging wearily toward them, a drowsily triumphant smile on his face, and a dim sparkle in his deep brown eyes. "Call the papers, boys, I'm gettin' faster," he joked, dropping his shovel with a clang on the ground.

"Ah, Stanley, nice of you to finally join us," Mr. Pendanski said with a smile. The jest seemed innocent enough, but Stanley looked mildly hurt at the remark, and the other boys leered at him, a few previously kind faces melting like hot wax into snarls. Pendanski's eyes darted around, but he couldn't seem to think of anything to say. Looking uneasy, he cleared his throat. "Stanley, Rex, Alan, Zero, this is Andrea. She's bunking in D-Tent with you boys." 

Even as the other six gaped in shock, Rex glared at Pendanski. Crossing the distance between them in seconds, he was nose to nose with the beaked counselor, who was considerably less cheerful than he had been the moment before. "My name…is X-Ray," he asserted heatedly. Pendanski seemed to have no retort, but the pair just glared at one another for a moment or two, but Rex looked as though it was taking every ounce of self-restraint that he possessed to keep himself from throwing the first punch.

"Well, _Rex, _it seems you've just elected yourself to be Andrea's mentor. Make sure she learns the ropes," Pendanski stated flatly, the cold malice in his eyes making plain what his words did not. Without another word, he turned at stalked off; turning only in time to scowl at the "salutes" that he received the moment his back was turned.

Everyone stood in silence for a moment or two, and it seemed that no one really knew what to say. Andrea looked around knowing that she couldn't be the one to disturb the tensed hush. She watched as the angry eye of the sun began to sink beneath the comforting horizon of the mountains, taking the blanket of heat with it. A slight shiver coursed through Andrea's body at the seemingly sudden cold, and X-Ray snapped to look at her.

"C'mon boys, dinnertime," X-Ray muttered at last, jerking his head toward the mess hall. The other boys tore their eyes away from the spot where Pendanski had been moments before and began to march toward the noisy cabin. It was a world within itself, the din of the children within failing to disrupt the calm that lived outside those creaky walls. "Hey, new kid, hang back a second."

Andrea felt a lurch in her stomach, hoping against hope that she hadn't managed to do something to these boys already. Halfway to the cabin, she watched as Magnet paused and turned around.

"Hey X, you comin'?" 

"Yeah, man," X-Ray called back, before turning to Andrea once again. "Skull-Crusher?" 

Andrea felt her cheeks burning, despite the dropping temperature. "Er…I…"

"Never mind. I don't want to know. Look, new kid, Squid didn't mean what he said, so don't think anything of it," he advised bluntly. "He'll say that to any girl after being locked up in this place."

"Oh," Andrea replied, feeling suddenly embarrassed. 

"And I mean _anyone. _See, a few months back, the state decided that we should get a day to let our families come out here, so my grandma came out here with my mom. So, the very first thing he said to her was 'hey pretty lady,'" he continued. Andrea just stared at him, at a loss for words, but he didn't seem to care. "See, that's all well and good, but my grandma has one leg…and a mustache."

            "Ah…well, don't worry about it, X-Ray. I didn't even realize that he'd said anything," she lied, absentmindedly brushing her hair from her eyes.

            He stared at her suspiciously, but shrugged it off after a moment or two. "Whatever, man. Dinner." She nodded in agreement, and followed him into the clamorous mess hall, where she dutifully took her place in the back of the line.

            "Here," one of the campers grunted, slopping a spoonful of some unrecognizable substance into a spotty aluminum tray. The sludge splattered the moment in hit the tin, spraying Andrea with the strange-smelling gunk. Wrinkling her nose, though not sure if it was because of the smell of the food or the fact that she was covered in it, she nodded in thanks and suppressed the grimace of disgust that was burning in her chest.

            "So, new kid, what're you in for?" Armpit asked after she plopped onto the bench.

            "Hmm? Oh…" she paused for a moment, considering the question. The more appropriate question would not be what she had done, but rather, what they had caught her for. "I…I stole things," she confessed at last, unsure of how else to phrases it.

            Zigzag cocked a thick blonde brow at her. "You…stole things. Well, 'round these parts, that doesn't help too much. What'd you steal?"

            "Plenty," she replied shortly. Looking around, she could see that they weren't satisfied with such a concise reply, so she began her story at the best place she could think to begin: the beginning. Before long, she was no longer sitting at the faded D-Tent table, and back in Detroit. It had been raining…


	3. Survival of Subtle Kinds

**Disclaimer: **Louis Sachar is my hero, and I own no one. Consider yourself disclaimed. Whee! On another note, I got the order right for the water line. I feel so proud. *Sniff* Finally, I'd really like to think anyone who has reviewed. I was tempted to stop this at one chapter, just because the unoriginality of it threatened to drive me insane. However, your feedback has kept me going, so thank you very much!

"…So, I ended up driving it over a bridge, and into the muddy banks of the river. I tried to run away, but they caught me before I was even out of the embankment. So, in the end, it was auto theft, avoiding arrest, and underage driving." Andrea concluded, heaving a weary sigh as she recalled so clearly that night in the pouring Detroit rain. She looked up from the table, the napkin that she had been absentmindedly playing with lying in unrecognizable shreds on the table. The seven boys each fixed her with stares, some disbelieving, others mildly confused as they put the details of her story together. 

            "So wait, you're, what, thirteen? Fourteen?" Stanley asked, a hint of suspicion on his voice.

            "Sixteen," Andrea answered shortly, all too aware of that suspicion, "I had a birthday while the court case was pending."

            "And you _really _thought you'd make it to Canada?" Zigzag asked incredulously.

            Andrea shrugged, a half-smile playing across her face. "I guess so."

            "Man, new kid, even for us, that was pretty stupid," Magnet chimed in.

            Squid snorted, "And stealing a puppy isn't?" 

            Magnet moved to speak again, but paused, blinking, as his gaze flickered from anger to realization. "Good point."

            No one seemed to have any further questions, comments or accusations, and as Andrea looked around, she saw each of the boys lost in thought, perhaps recalling their own hellacious stories that condemned them to this prison. That is, all save for X-Ray. His eyes were trained on hers, magnified by his thick glasses, as a knowing smirk spread across his face. 

            "So, new kid, hope you're ready for your first hole. You're not gonna try to get out of it, are you?" he asked, not bothering to hide the gleeful smile on his face.

            Andrea blinked. She had forgotten all about the first hole. "Actually…I was thinking that I would wear something tight, stick my chest out, and see where that gets me," she considered, thoughtfully stroking her chin.

            X-Ray gaped at her, and the others snapped out of whatever reverie they had been living in, long enough to do the same. "Y-You'd what?" he stammered, quickly clearing his throat. 

            Andrea flashed a split-second smile. "I was joking, X. I have no idea what I'm going to do. Grab a shovel and start digging?"

            "Good thinking, new kid, no _way _are the Warden and Mr. Sir going to let you play the 'I'm a girl, save me!' card anytime soon. Mom too. Face it, you're just like the rest of us, and no one's going to bail you out."

             "Actually, I think I was going for the 'I'm a girl, let me provide what you don't have and get out of digging for it' card, but I think I like yours better. It makes me sound like an even _bigger_ simpering priss," Andrea replied more sarcastically than she had intended. She wasn't sure if it was the alien smell of the food, the no holds barred attitude of X-Ray and the other D-Tent boys, or the looming dread of what the next day would bring, but suddenly she wasn't in the mood to be reminded of how slight the chance was that she'd make it in this wasteland of boys. 

            X-Ray looked at her, the shock on his face making it plain that he hadn't been spoken to that way in a _long _time. "Whatever. I suggest you get some sleep, new kid. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day," X-Ray advised. Without another word, he left his seat at the table, and stalked toward out of the mess hall, melting like a panther into the starry night.

            An awkward silence followed, as each boy seemed to be struggling to find something to say.

            "Er, I think I'll go to bed too," Magnet said at last, standing up and brushing himself off.

            "Yeah, same here," added Zigzag.

            "Yup," chimed Stanley.

            "Ditto," added Armpit.

            "Night," piped Squid.

            Before Andrea knew what had happened, each of them had filed out of the door, bantering back and forth until their voices were but an echo in Andrea's head. She looked from the open door, to Zero, sitting silent as stone with a blank expression on his face.

            "Are they always so hasty in making an exit, or am I just a pain to be around?" Andrea asked, hoping to break the silence between them. He hadn't said a single word to her since she had arrived, nor had she seen him say anything to anyone else. It looked as though this would be no exception, for his gaze did not falter. "Right, I'll just be going then," the mumbled as she stood up and turned to walk away. "Goodnight."

            She was nearly out the door when she heard a quiet voice calling after her. "Night." She turned, getting one last look at his back before stepping out the door and into the night.

            Still clad in the clothes that she had come in, Andrea hugged her arms at the slight chill of the night as her footsteps echoed across the grounds. Reluctantly she stepped into D-Tent, and all conversations died out. She crossed the space to the only cot that wasn't being occupied and sat down with a creak. Her fingers brushed the scratchy wool blanket that was folded neatly at the end of the cot, and breathed in the hybrid smell of dust and sour milk. _Welcome home, _she thought to herself as she spread the blanket across the bed. 

            "Man, I remember _my _first hole," Armpit began, a sly smile beginning at his cheeks. "I asked you to kill me where I stood halfway through, didn't I, X?" 

            X-Ray laughed, "Yeah, but you were no worse than Ziggy. He was in so much pain he spent the entire night mumbling his method of escape in his sleep. Not much has changed since then, eh Zig?"

            Zigzag chuckled and nodded.

            "I know what you mean," Stanley finally joined in. "The size of those blisters on my hands, man…"

            Magnet smirked, "Yeah, those were nasty, man. It's all part of it though, along with the backbreaking work…"

            "All right, I get it!" Andrea snapped, glaring at him. "It's a _boy's _work and by the end of the first day I'm going to be sobbing and begging for your help. I get it, okay?" Sighing heavily, she flopped back on the bed, not caring _how _childish she sounded. She stared at the canvas ceiling, painfully aware of six pairs of eyes on her. Her stare was only broken when she heard soft footsteps entering the tent. Zero strode silently over to his cot and sat down, and as if on cue, the tent was plunged into the darkness as the lights in the camp were extinguished for the night.

            Andrea rolled over, the creak of the springs chasing away any thoughts of sleep. She listened to the soft conversations and inwardly cursed herself as silent tears began to spill from her eyes and stain the pillow. _No! _she raged. If she allowed herself to fall apart today, she _would _be sobbing for help after the next day. With such thoughts in her head, and with the soft murmurs of the boys around her, she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

_I suggest you get some sleep, new kid. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day._

            The blare of a horn, crude and unwelcome against the perfect stillness of the night sky, jerked Andrea awake as she bolted upright. All around her, campers sleepily arose, mumbling assorted obscenities as they cursed the inevitable dawn. Andrea quickly pulled on the jumpsuit, her half-conscious stupor telling her that it would be better to change now than when the boys around her actually realized which way was up. She shuffled out of the tent and followed the other campers to the large square where Pendanski and Mr. Sir stood, barking orders of "Get moving, Brandon," and other assorted commands. Andrea moved to her place in line, behind a stretching Squid. She reached the tool shed filled with shovels and grabbed one, blearily rubbing her eyes. 

            "Breakfast is to the right, Andrea," Pendanski pointed out, jerking his thumb toward a flimsy table piled with tin containers of tortillas covered in what looked like honey. Lurching back into motion, she trudged over to the table and grabbed a tortilla, wrinkling her nose at the sticky mess that began to drip onto her hands. Shrugging, she took a bite, and nearly spit it out, the gummy mix of bland tortilla and sickeningly sweet honey making her gag. Clenching her eyes shut, she choked the first bite down, coughing as it slid slowly down her throat. She did the same for the second bite, and the third until it was gone. She grimaced as she wiped her mouth of excess honey and began to follow the crowd of boys as they began to march toward the desolate wasteland that stretched for what felt like eternity.

            "Hey, Andrea, no worries. The first hole's the hardest," Andrea looked up and watched Stanley smile through his fatigue. 

            Andrea cocked her own weary smile. "Thanks, Stanley."

            "Umm…it's Caveman, all right?" 

            Andrea snorted, as laughter bubbled in her chest. "Right. You're Caveman like I'm Lips and Hips."

            "But…you _are _lips and hips."

            "Shut up."

            The first gray streaks of dawn had already begun to taint the black velvet sky by the time Mr. Sir ordered them to stop. He steered Andrea toward a patch of ground and commanded her to dig. 

            "Good luck, girly girl. You're gonna need it. With any, you'll be finished before the hottest part of the day. But, I doubt it." He smirked and walked away. She followed after him long enough for him to fill her canteen, and watched the water truck drive away, the dust it kicked up seeming to disappear into the quickly warming air, just like her hope of surviving this place. Sighing, she walked back to the patch of land and stared at it. She stabbed the shovel into the hard earth, but it bounced back, causing her to jump back with a slight yelp. She heard snickers from some of the nearby boys, and looked up to see X-Ray, Armpit, Magnet, Squid and Zigzag forsaking their precious time in the dark to watch her interestedly. 

            Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Andrea found one of the cracks in the ground and thrust the shovel into it, nearly dropping it in surprise when she saw that it sank into the earth. Stepping on the shovel, she pushed the shovel to its very limit before sloppily heaving the dirt off to one side. "I did it!" she beamed as she stared at the indentation in the ground. Brimming with satisfaction, she rewarded herself with a drink of water. Glancing up, she saw the sun's angry brow had already begun to peak above the horizon. This wouldn't be so hard; she just had to keep digging. The boys had been trying to psyche her out, and that was it. Digging holes would be a snap. 

***

            A number of hours later, waist-deep in the baked soil, Andrea realized she couldn't have been more wrong. Her muscles screamed with every stroke of the shovel she made, and the back of her neck was already beginning to redden with every minute that the sun beat down upon it. Her legs and back felt stretched to the very limit, and layers of blisters had formed on her thin hands. Seeing an increasingly familiar cloud of dust in the distance, she hopped out of the hole and grabbed her canteen, draining the last of it. She sauntered over to the boys, and winced as each of them clapped her on the back. 

            "How's it goin', new kid?" X-Ray asked with a grin.

            "Fine, I guess," Andrea lied as she eyed the approaching truck. 

            "Good," he grunted, "Now get in line."

            "Wh…" before she could have time to finish the sentence, Armpit and X-Ray had grabbed her by the collar and shoved her toward the back of the line. Her thick-soled boot caught a crack in the thirsty dirt and she tumbled face first to the ground. Quickly standing up, she blew her hair out of her eyes and brushed herself off, only to cringe at the burning in her hands. Andrea pulled her hands away from the jumpsuit, staring at the jagged red cuts etched across her palms atop the blisters she had formed earlier that day. Her eyes flicked to the legs of the jumpsuit, and saw that thin red lines of blood mingled with the grime. "Sorry, X-Ray," she mumbled, quietly taking her place at the back of the line.

            Moments later, the water truck screeched to a stop, and Mr. Pendanski hopped out, his nose slathered in sun block just as it had been the previous afternoon. "Hello, Rex," he greeted, the tension gone from his voice.

            "Morning, Mom," X-Ray replied almost quietly. His air of power had completely vanished, and it didn't take Andrea long to see why. Water was life in this wasteland, and Pendanski had the water. Therefore, Pendanski was life, and angering life didn't seem like an option. 

            One by one, X-Ray, Armpit, Zigzag, Squid, Magnet, Stanley and Zero walked back to their holes with canteens filled, until Andrea was the only one left. Pendanski took her canteen and filled it, but when she went to grab it, he held it back.

            "How are things going for you, Andrea?"

            "Just fine," she muttered, staring at the water jug.

            "Oh good, and the boys are treating you nicely?"  
            "Er…" Andrea tossed a glance over at X-Ray, who was eyeing her suspiciously. "Yeah, everything's fine. Thank you, sir." At long last, he handed her the canteen, and she walked back to her hole, hesitant to start again. Mechanically, she grabbed the shovel, and began to dig again, putting herself in a place that she couldn't feel the aches in her muscles, the homesickness in her stomach, or the scorching sun on her back. _Just keep going; just keep going…_she reminded herself over and over, until she forgot all of it. Forgot where she was, forget who she was, forgot everything that made her cry the night before. 

            "Hey, Andrea," a voice suddenly called her out of her perfunctory daze. Her gaze snapped up, and she saw Squid staring down at her. She squinted and shifted to one side, moving so that the sum was directly behind his back, casting an incandescent glow about him. "You know, you've been done for a good while now."

            "What?"

            "Your hole. You know, digging deeper won't earn you extra points, just extra back pain."

            Andrea blinked, chasing the last of her thoughts back to the dusty corners of her mind from whence they came. Looking around, she realized that she was in a hole not up to her waist, but above her head. She stood the shovel upright, and saw that the sides were as deep as a shovel length and then some, and she was able to lay it down in any direction across the bottom. She took a step, and all of the pain she had felt earlier returned, magnified by what felt like thousands, and she nearly collapsed as her knees buckled. Squid just watched her, an amused eyebrow raised as she attempted to jump out, only to fall back down. 

            "Want some help?"

            "That would be nice," she snapped.

            He snorted, a superior smile beginning at his lips. "Well, if you're going to yell at me, maybe I'll just leave. I've already paid my debt to society today, so there's no sense in me playing Good Samaritan in the hot sun with a girl who doesn't want my help," he grinned and began to walk away.

            Andrea scowled to herself. "Damn it," she muttered to herself. "Wait!" she called after him, and he appeared in her sight, his grin wider than ever. 

            "Yes?"

            "I'm…sorry. Now could you help me out? Please?"

            "Hmm…"

            "_Please, _Squid?" she begged, deciding at that moment she was not above begging on her knees, and considered doing so.

            "All right fine," he granted at last, reaching down to pull her out.

            With her only free hand, Andrea grabbed hold of his arms and he pulled. But, either he had overestimated her weight, or she had underestimated his strength, for moments later, she was flying through the air, before crashing to the ground a few feet away with a loud "Hunh". She gasped for breath as she rolled over, clutching her stomach as Stanley and Magnet, the only two campers left digging, turned and stared. She stood up, the ache in her legs nothing to the sharp pains in her stomach as she fought to regain her breath. Squid walked over to her, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. 

            "Sorry about that," he said casually, his tone suggesting that he was anything but sorry.

            "Not to worry," she breathed, grabbing her shovel, which had landed several feet in the other direction. Squid slung his own shovel over his shoulder and began to walk back to camp. 

            "G'bye then," he murmured as he walked away.

            "Thank you," she called after him, but he was already out of earshot. 

            "What was _that_ all about?" Magnet's harsh Hispanic words reached her ears and she spun around and cleared her throat.

            "What was what about? Me having the manners to thank someone for helping me?"  
            "Sure, if you want to call it that," Stanley riposted with a grin.

            "Whatever you say, boys. Have fun digging, _Caveman. _Magnet." 

            With a sigh and a slight flinch as she took her first steps, Andrea began the long walk toward camp.

***

            The sun had begun to sink in the sky, painting it a deep shade of blood red, as Andrea drug her half-limp form back into the square at the center of camp. Looking behind her, she could see that Magnet was on his way back, and Stanley had just hunched over his hole and spit into it. She cast a glance at the showers, feeling she needed to be clean more than anything else, and then over to the wreck room, wanting nothing more than to sit down. She looked between the two, before hobbling over to the shovel shed and hanging up the shovel with a light clang. 

            Finally realizing that if she sat down she would never be able to get up, she shambled over to the showers and stripped down to as little clothing as she dared. Suddenly, Andrea realized that she needed her other jumpsuit and a shower token, but couldn't get up the strength to get back into her clothing. Without a moment's hesitation, she dashed, if you could call it that, over to D-Tent, and grabbed everything that she needed, thanking her lucky stars that no one was in there, and that the grounds were deserted. Running back to the showers, she inserted the token and plunged into the icy stream, caring nothing for the temperature. She didn't care anymore whether or not she was clean, but she never wanted to leave that stream of frigid water. She watched as the dirt that had caked itself to her face and body melted into the water, turning it murky brown as it rolled off of her body. She had just thought to reach for the soap when there was a mechanical click and the water shut off. Cursing slightly, she stepped out of the showers and dressed herself, watching the drops from her dark hair fall to the ground and disappear instantly, lost forever to the parched land.

            Finally feeling slightly refreshed, Andrea shuffled toward the wreck room, feeling almost comforted by the noise. She suddenly saw a lumpy orange chair, and made for it. Without looking, she plopped down and tilted her head back. A grunt ruffled her damp hair and she turned around. Yelping loudly, she leapt off of the seat, and fell to the ground, apologizing profusely while everyone around her shared a laugh. She looked up, and saw a pimple-faced boy with greasy blonde hair hanging in his eyes. He smiled wickedly at her, and she backed away.

            "Er…I'm sorry," she mumbled, slowly rising to her feet. She walked over to where most of D-Tent was assembled around a banged-up pool table, and listened as they laughed some more. After awhile, she began to laugh along with them, whether by realization of the hilarity of the situation or sheer insanity from fatigue, she wasn't sure.

            "So, new kid, Squid tells us you got yourself stuck in your hole. Smooth. Real smooth."

            Andrea grinned, not caring that his tone was mocking. "Thanks. I try."

            "Man, I'm hungry!" Stanley called as he walked in the door. "Dinner?"

            The rest agreed and the all walked toward the mess hall, just as the dinner bell began to wring through the evening. The eight of them followed the crowd of the wreck room and into the cafeteria. Andrea stood the back of the line, just as before, and watched as food was slopped on her tray once again. She followed Stanley and the others to the table and sat down. After a few minutes of silent consumption, Magnet looked at Stanley and grinned evilly. 

            "So, Andrea, what's with you and Squid?"

               
            


End file.
